Lindh pleads guilty to aiding Taliban
John Walker Lindh, in a Jan. 23, 2002 file
photo.
July 15 -- NBC's Pete Williams
reports on the plea bargain that
led to John Walker Lindh's
surprise guilty plea to two
charges on Monday.
He faces up to 20 years in prison under
surprise plea bargain
NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES
RICHMOND, Va., July 15 — In a surprise bargain with prosecutors,
American John Walker Lindh pleaded guilty Monday to two
charges that spared him a possible life prison sentence. “I
provided my services as a soldier to the Taliban ... knowingly
and willingly, knowing that it was illegal,” said the 21-year-old
Lindh, who faces a maximum 20-year sentence.
• Yellow Pages
• Auctions at uBid
• Personals Channel
• Professional Tips
• Newsletters
• Shopping
Do you agree with the
government's decision to
plea bargain with John
Walker Lindh?
Yes. The punishment is
appropriate to the crime.
No. Prosecutors should
have pursued the original
charges.
Vote to see results
“I PLEAD GUILTY. I plead guilty, sir,” Lindh told the judge as
he entered the plea to one charge of supplying services to the
Taliban, the hard-line Muslim government of Afghanistan ousted
by a U.S.-led military coalition, and another charge that wasn’t in
the original indictment alleging he carried explosives in the
commission of a felony.
He originally was charged with 10 counts, including conspiracy
to murder U.S. citizens, contributing services to al-Qaida and the
Taliban and using firearms during crimes of violence. Three of the
10 counts carried maximum terms of life imprisonment for Lindh,
who was captured in Afghanistan in early December and
transferred to civilian custody in late January.
Under terms of his deal with prosecutors, Lindh would serve
two 10-year prison sentences consecutively and would cooperate
fully with U.S. authorities in the investigation of al-Qaida and
terrorism.
Administration officials told NBC News that President Bush
approved the general terms of the deal last week.
Lindh’s lawyers agreed not to ask to have the sentence lowered
at sentencing, which had not yet been scheduled. Lindh, who had
been slated for trial Aug. 26, will get credit for the time he has
served.
GOVERNMENT DEFENDS PLEA DEAL
The government defended the plea bargain, saying it will bring
an appropriate punishment.
U.S. District Attorney Paul J. McNulty, chief prosecutor in the
case, called the pleading “an important victory for the American
people in the battle against terrorism. This is a tough sentence. This
is an appropriate punishment and this case proves that the criminal
justice system can be an effective tool in the fight against
terrorism.”
Advertisement
Noting Lindh’s ongoing cooperation, Attorney General John
Ashcroft hailed the deal.
“By going to Afghanistan and fighting shoulder-to-shoulder
alongside the Taliban, John Walker Lindh allied himself with
terrorists who reject our values of freedom and democracy and
turned his back on the United States of America,” Ashcroft said.
“He will now spend the next 20 years in prison - nearly as long as
he has been alive.”
But Lindh’s father, Frank, noted at a news conference afterward
that the government “decided to drop all terrorism charges against
my son.”
“I hope that the government will come around even further and
say 20 years is wrong for this boy.”
Lindh’s mother, brother and sister also spoke in his support at
the news conference outside court, as did lead defense attorney
James Brosnahan, who noted that Lindh had never fired his gun
while serving with the Taliban and had wanted to leave after he
learned about the attacks of Sept. 11 but feared for his life if he
tried.
‘THIS ISN’T RAMBO’
“This isn’t Rambo we’re talking about,” he said.
The attorney’s comments came just over an hour after he
stunned the packed courtroom, apparently including U.S. District
Judge T.S. Ellis III, at the outset of what was supposed to be a
weeklong series of hearings on the admissibility of statements
Lindh made shortly after his capture about al-Qaida and Osama bin
Laden. “There is a change in plea,” he said.
With his parents and
younger sister seated behind
him, Lindh then rose in his
green prison jumpsuit to face
the judge and state in his own
words the crimes he
committed.
“I provided my services
as a soldier to the Taliban last
year from about August to
November. During the course
of doing so I carried a rifle
and two grenades,” he said.
After hearing Lindh enter
guilty pleas to both charges, and ensuring that he understood the
implications of the pleas, Ellis said, “The court accepts your plea
and adjudges you now guilty.”
At the Pentagon, spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said that as part
of the deal, Lindh agreed to “cooperate on any future intelligence
and information gathering” with regard to his knowledge about the
Taliban and al-Qaida.
McNulty, the U.S. attorney, said the government believes that
Lindh will be “very valuable to the cause,” though he
acknowledged that it is unclear how much the former Taliban fighter
will be able to tell investigators.
“We have not been able to talk to him, other than his original
interviews,” he said.
The surprise plea by Lindh, who grew up in California and
converted to Islam before journeying to Afghanistan, pre-empted
what legal experts said would be unprecedented hearings on the
admissibility of Lindh’s statements after his capture in Afghanistan.
STATEMENTS AFTER CAPTURE AT ISSUE
Ellis was to have determined whether Lindh should have
immediately been advised of his rights when questioned by U.S.
forces last December, and whether any damaging statements were
made under duress.
The ruling would have had implications for any others who, like
Lindh, were captured in the war on terrorism and later transferred to
the civilian court system. Foreigners held by the United States in
Cuba could be affected if any of them are prosecuted by the Justice
Department instead of the military.
msnbc.com |
